Greek unorthodox
Andy Pink deals with more unorthodox events from his volleyball life in Greece.
Last Updated: 30/11/11 5:16pm
Hello again from Greece! I am still alive and well.
Last time we spoke about contracts, language barriers and the Orthodox Church's vice-like grip on the world of volleyball results.
A quick update on those issues: one of our players is currently into his seventh week of residence in a hotel where you can rent rooms for a shorter stay than is 'normal', shall we say; I still can't understand a word the coach is shouting. However, the volume and frequency of his tirades suggests that I'm not doing myself a disservice in that regard. And regardless of the antics of a bearded man in a little hat with a shiny covered book, we can't seem to buy a win at the moment.
Our league program has been interrupted by the Olympic qualification taking place around the world, robbing most of the teams in Greece of a few key players. In times like these, most teams are looking forward to taking a few days off training to rest or in the case of our team, a few days away from volleyball to prevent total mental disintegration. We have had an interesting start to the season, a few wins peppered by three narrow defeats ranging from the absurd to the farcical. I'm left wondering if there are any other ways to lose a match we haven't yet taken on. That can only mean one thing, nothing can go wrong now!
In our last match we shared four sets with our opponents from Lamia. They were slightly greedy, however, and took more than their fair share. I'm never one to place blame on referees generally as volleyball isn't like football where one penalty decision your way is all you need to win. Evidently the entire country of Greece doesn't subscribe to the same beliefs.
Admittedly, the referees did give a point or two in the wrong direction which was decisive in the end, but the scenes after the match make a Millwall-Chelsea fixture of old seem like high tea at Windsor Castle. Never mind that the second referee was a woman, she was not spared in the aftermath. I can't repeat what was being said, but even the riot police and some important looking blokes with radios and batons couldn't quell the pushing and shoving. Were there any recriminations or sanctions from the league? Not a chance. The circus rolls on.
The League Cup of 2011!
In the sports pages of newspapers across the globe these days you can read with increasing frequency about how there is too much cricket or too much football. Anything you can do, we can do better.
The geniuses at the volleyball league here in Greece decided that they had better come up with a cup competition to fill the short three-week void due to the aforementioned international break. Step forward the new and improved 'League Cup 2011'! The format of the cup takes the 12 first division sides and splits them into three groups of four, the winner of each group plus Syros, the host of the final four, compete to see who wins the massive €15.000 prize.
I have yet to hear a single soul voice their approval about the competition. All the players know that if their team were to win the cup, they wouldn't see a red penny of the prize pot. Most coaches quickly realised that with the majority of the teams in Greece robbed of their key players to various national teams, no one would be taking it seriously.
I even heard of a president or two of a club telling his charges it's not worth the effort especially considering the final four is to be played on the island of Syros, meaning a four-hour boat journey from Athens each way. Our group was played last weekend, and to say that the public had thrown cold water on the idea would be a massive understatement. Cold water would have raised the temperature remarkably!
We played our part in this farce and duly exited at the first opportunity, leaving the final four of this 'Cup' to be fought over by teams currently occupying the lower end of the table. And you thought the Carling Cup was pointless.
Transfer window
The transfer window is open until the end of January in Greece and the game of musical chairs never really stops. Imagine if the majority of players in football signed only one-year contracts.
That would mean there would be no transfer fees to speak of, and no reason to hold on to players who aren't up to scratch or had a bad game. In a sense, players would always be walking on egg shells. It would be carnage.
You have an argument with another player in training one day and can find yourself at the airport the next. Contracts mean next to nothing. Every year in Greece teams regularly change half their teams around Christmas time.
So it was a nice morning when I woke up the day after the fantastic time waster of the 'League Cup 2011' to find that the newspapers here had run a recap of the weekend along with a nice little quote from our coach saying something to the effect of ''We don't have a problem to change some players".
So, someone is on their way out.
With a crucial match against Panathinaikos next up for us on Friday December 2, it's clear our coach and president want to change someone or something to make sure we get a win. The match is live on telly. It's going to be 'spicy'. I'll tell you all about it next time, if I'm still here.
